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This Week in Congress This week, the House is in recess, and the Senate was in session despite postponed votes to accommodate weather-related travel delays. The last major snowstorm in Washington, D.C. was 2016’s “Snowzilla,” which dropped around 20 inches in D.C. and even more in its suburbs. The Senate considered votes on a pregnancy-related bill…

Government Shutdown Take II? Most federal government funding runs out at midnight on Friday. Although Congress had been close to passing the remaining six spending bills, a partial government shutdown now looks likely. Last week, members of Congress released a bipartisan package of four spending bills covering Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Labor programs, and…

Bipartisan Healthcare Negotiations FAILED! Senate bipartisan negotiations on an extension of the expired enhanced premium tax credits did not produce a deal. The group is not planning further meetings. Return to the ASAtoday page to read more articles

This Week in Congress  This week, the House is session and the Senate is in recess. The House considered two pregnancy-related bills (H.R. 6359 and H.R. 6945), and a resolution (H. J. Res. 140), brought under the Congressional Review Act, to disapprove of a Bureau of Land Management rule restricting mining leases in northern Minnesota. Additionally,…

Government Shutdown? Congress has until January 30th to pass six more appropriations bills to avoid a partial government shutdown. Last week, the Senate passed the three-bill minibus that cleared the House on January 8. Once the President signs it, six of the 12 appropriations bills will become law: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-State, Energy-Water, Interior, Legislative Branch, and…

ASA Urges Congress to Pass the FY26 Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Bill ASA, along with the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC), urged Congressional Leadership to pass the FY 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill, which fully-funds core highway, public transportation and airport construction programs at previously authorized levels.  More than…

ASA Monitors DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule Enforcement On May 1, 2025, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division paused enforcement of the 2024 independent contractor rule and reverted to the older, multi-factor “economic realities” test. While the 2024 rule remains technically in effect, enforcement now follows Trump-era standards, considering factors such as opportunity for…

Healthcare Negotiations Continue Negotiations among a bipartisan group of Senators to temporarily extend the now-expired ACA enhanced premium tax credits have encountered significant hurdles, primarily due to disputes concerning Hyde Amendment provisions that restrict the use of federal funds for abortion. Sen. Moreno (R-OH), who has taken a leadership role in the discussions, along with…

Republican Study Committee Proposals for Reconciliation 2.0 Last week, the fiscally conservative Republican Study Committee unveiled a list of proposals for a new tax and spending bill, potentially advancing through the partisan budget reconciliation process. You can access the document here: https://aboutbtax.com/bkGi. However, some Republicans, including the Chairmen of the House Ways and Means and…

House GOP Leaders Struggle to Control the Floor House Republican leaders were reminded last week how hard it is to manage the House with such a narrow majority. A small group of vulnerable Republicans opposed a labor bill, causing it to fail on the House floor. Their opposition also forced Speaker Mike Johnson to delay…